Drillers: Fracturing Rock Poses No Danger
Washington, PA Observer-Reporter
9 November 2009
By Christie Campbell, Staff Writer
chriscam@observer-reporter.com
As more drilling for natural gas occurs in the area, residents are
voicing concerns about environmental effects, especially the viability
of the water supply.
But the industry is quick to point out its methods are safe, and not
one case of water contamination has been reported from hydraulic
fracturing, even though the process has been used for 60 years to drill
1 million wells.
"In essence, it's a safe process. It's well-regulated, and it has
minimal environmental impact," said Matt Pitzarella, spokesman for
Range Resources, a gas drilling company operating in Washington County.
To extract natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation, a procedure
called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracing," is employed, forcing
millions of gallons of water under high pressure deep into the shale
bed, causing tiny cracks in the rock that allow gas to be released for
capture.
Chemicals are used to aid the process. Unlike some drilling companies
that consider the chemicals proprietary, Range Resources has made
public its additives and the volume used. Pitzarella said the company
uses four chemicals in the fracing process: polyacrylamide,
glutaraldehyde, ethylene glycol and ammonium bisulfate.
And while the names may sound imposing, "every single additive we use
is part of our daily life," said Pitzarella.
Laurel Ziemba, public affairs for CNX Gas, explained that because
horizontal drilling is about 8,000 feet below the earth's surface and
the typical aquifer is no more than 200 feet below, there would be
little chance of a water well being contaminated by a fracturing agent.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2004 concluded there was no
evidence that hydraulic fracturing used in coal-bed methane wells
contaminated underground sources of drinking water. Coal-bed methane
tends to be located closer to aquifers than the Marcellus Shale, and
those wells are drilled by CNX Gas.
Helen Humphreys, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental
Protection, said the department will take samples and do field
inspections if people complain about changes in water.
She recommends that people obtain a sample of their drinking water
prior to the start of drilling activities. The matter should be
reported to the DEP, not just to the drilling company, she said.
Pitzarella pointed out that while there is oversight of the
gas-drilling industry, there are no regulations regarding private
drinking wells. Range has found property owners who have accidentally
drilled a water well into a mine pool.
And Pitzarella said any risks associated with drilling tend to be
surface impacts, such as a truck overturning and spilling its chemical
load. In 15 years, there have been 80 such surface spills, but
Pitzarella said the effects on local groundwater have been minimal.